The Israeli prime minister became the first world leader to meet with Donald Trump in an attempt to persuade him to ease the trade war. In a move that is being watched closely by the rest of the world, Netanyahu promised to quickly eliminate the trade deficit with the United States, but in return did not receive a promise from the White House chief to remove tariffs, A2 CNN reports.
The United States, Israel's main ally and most important trading partner, last year recorded a deficit of $7.4 billion with the country.
Under Trump's new policy, Israel now faces 17 percent tariffs from the US.
"I can tell you that I told the president something simple. We will eliminate the trade deficit with the US, and we intend to do it as quickly as possible. We will also eliminate the trade barriers that have been unnecessarily raised," Netanyahu said, according to A2 CNN.
This is Netanyahu's second visit to the White House since Trump began his second term. During the talks in the Oval Office, the two leaders also discussed the 18-month war in Gaza and the fate of hostages still held by Hamas.
Trump said alongside Netanyahu that he wanted the war to stop and that he hoped it would happen soon. Asked if he would keep his campaign promise to end the conflict, he said: " We would like to end the war. And I think the war will stop at some point, which will not be far off. We have a hostage problem right now. We have to try to free them."
He reiterated his desire to take control of the Gaza Strip, telling reporters in the Oval Office that it would be a good thing. According to him, if he took the Palestinians and relocated them to different places, Gaza would become a zone of freedom. (A2 Televizion)
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